Trooper Dawayne Maddux, 32, was parked in the bridge's inside lane near a construction zone with his vehicle's emergency lights on but was "moving to the outside lane" when his cruiser was struck by the motorcycle, the FHP said.

Williamson's Suzuki hit the back of the cruiser, and he and 24-year-old passenger Jenna Elizabeth Scott were thrown from the motorcycle, according to the FHP. Troopers are investigating.

crossing all of the lanes is hardly "sitting there". radio means that he knew the bike was coming.

Biker was breaking the law and ultimately brought this on himself, but this cop certainly intended to get hit... and that intent should be taken into account.

nickerj1:This is the second comment I've seen about "At that speed, he's pretty much dead anyway" which is completely false. You can wipeout on a bike at 125mph and get up and walk away. However, you do need to be wearing the proper gear, and you also need to have plenty of sliding room.

The article isn't talking about a smooth racetrack bordered by objects designed to be crashed into by a human body or people who are wearing professional grade protective gear.

A friend of mine lived on a street where a guy got a new bike, the first time he rode it, he severed his leg on a guardrail and died.

It can depending on if you smack, slide or roll. At 125mph nothing is going to save you if you slam into a solid object. The helmet may keep your head intact but your neck and body are going to get some snaps. Although I have friends who have survived such impacts and been in traction for months. If you roll it can actually be worse and you get multiple smaller impacts all over the body, snapping a bone with every hit and wrenching the meat all over as you pretzel roll your way down the road. If you slide.....you might be ok, with the right gear and a ton of luck you can even walk away from it. A lot of surviving a long slide is up to the rider and how experienced he is, ready to sacrifice his ass cheeks to the pavement. I have slid a few times in good gear and without, my worst was a 50 foot slide on a wet road that destroyed my blue jeans and gave pizza legs. But no hospital stay. I've actually slid on my helmet and had it take the brunt of the damage leaving me unharmed, on that wreck if I had not had a helmet I would have lost my face and likely a bit of brain on the asphalt. Of all the wrecks I honestly believe helmets saved my life twice from certain death, the helmets were cracked from impact.

If you ride, eventually, you are going to get hurt. Ride long enough and you will get hurt bad at some point. For me its still worth it. Not riding like a farking maniac can greatly reduce the odds of it being a really bad drop. But nothing can stop the other vehicles and what they do to you, just pray you can get out of the way.

/end not so csb//yes I know i'm a useless old fark who rambles on and on

gmaki:why is everyone assuming the motorcycle was going 125 when it hit the cruiser? the article only says that the chase reached 125mph at one point. It's possible he was going much slower near the end. Of course you can't tell one way or another from the article.

actually the motorcycle was doing 0 MPH the moment it hit the cruiser that's why he got killed. He died because he bike did 0. He was just fine doing 125.

doing a buck twenty five on a bike IS a death sentence, one way or another, eventually.

/but it's the car's fault!

used to hit 120 plus every time I took my Super Blackbird out, no high speed accidents. But two low speed ones; one cat ruined my belly pan and ice ruined left side. I don't speed on purpose anymore, can't afford tickets or gas.

Having been young and stupid at some point in my life, I was the back seater at 260km/h on a crotch rocket once (ok, maybe twice). It was legal, too, on the Autobahn. Good news is, if something happens, it'll just take a split second.

Bikers speeding on bridge.Cop begins pursuit but stops when it's clear that he can't overtake, and public safety is at issue.Bikers ram into another cop car at end of bridge. Darwin claims driver as prize.

If the bike was approaching at 125 I seriously doubt the highway patrol cruiser could have accelerated fast enough or the officer driving it react fast enough to intentionally "block" a bike approaching that quickly. The rider an hero'd it big time, end of story, move on.

I have a feeling that when the policy officer was veering over, he probably had an idea he was entering the trajectory of the motorcycle. I'm envisioning Bugs Bunny holding a stick so Elmer Fudd trips over it. Those cop types have radios...

PreMortem:vpb: PreMortem: St_Francis_P: If by "ramming", you mean "sat there and got hit":

Trooper Dawayne Maddux, 32, was parked in the bridge's inside lane near a construction zone with his vehicle's emergency lights on but was "moving to the outside lane" when his cruiser was struck by the motorcycle, the FHP said.

Williamson's Suzuki hit the back of the cruiser, and he and 24-year-old passenger Jenna Elizabeth Scott were thrown from the motorcycle, according to the FHP. Troopers are investigating.

I read that like the cop was hiding in a construction site, knew he was coming and pulled out in front of him to stop his progress. Intentional and hardly just sitting there.

Is say do an investigation and at least see if it can be verified the cop did in fact have his lights on. Speeding shouldn't be a death sentence.

So what if he did or didn't? The motorcycle hit him, not the other way around. It was going 125. If you don't think being an idiot should be a death sentience talk to Darwin.

The moron killed himself.

The cop intentionally pulled out in front of him. That is who was intentional. It wasn't negligence on the rider.

The first Cop was from the Clearwater police department, the one involved in the accident was from the Florida Highway Patrol. Even though they both have radios they would not hear each other as they were on different frequencies. Unless the Clearwater dispatcher contacted the FHP and requested assistance and then the FHP dispatcher put out a call regarding the speeding motorcycle then the FHP officer had no idea he was coming.

And anyone who thinks a cop would pull out in front of a 700lb vehicle (400lb bike 2x150lb passengers) traveling at high speed is nuts. That type of impact could very well kill the car driver and cops know it.

It also happened at night (10:30 PM) so the FHP officer would have a hard time judging distance even if he did see the bike coming.

I can't imagine the percentages of hitting a solid object (cop car) at 125, and living, are very good, lid or no lid.

I had 2 crashes. 1 low speed (30ish). Drunk asshat ran a red light, and I ran into the side of his car. As I'm laying there in the intersection, he left. Zero injuries beyond a sprained thumb.The 2nd was ~65 or so. I 'think' I hit a critter crossing the freeway. Tankslapper, slide, slide, slide. Hamburger legs and shoulders, but no hospital stay.

Why do I not ride anymore? Because I'm still vertical, and don't want that 3rd strike.

Yes. These farkwits do this shiat all the time in South FL. Sorry the kid lost his live, but at least the girl will live.

I see this shiat ALL the time. Wheelies at 80 mph, also. Lane splitting while speeding. shiat you would expect to see in a movie and never IRL because it's so dumb and suicidal.

Happens all the time in Atlanta as well and we drive fast around here, it is not unusual to be going 85-90 mph on the downtown connector and be passed like you are standing still by some idiot on a sport bike.

Bonus points for having a ball-cap on backwards and a t shirt flapping up over the back of your neck.

Glendale:If the bike was approaching at 125 I seriously doubt the highway patrol cruiser could have accelerated fast enough or the officer driving it react fast enough to intentionally "block" a bike approaching that quickly. The rider an hero'd it big time, end of story, move on.

The opposite is true. If you move perpendicular to my path, the faster I am going, the better your chance to block me and force the wreck. At 10 mph, as skilled rider can easily swerve an entire car length within 15 ft of travel. At 125 mph, the same swerve to avoid would take closer to 100 feet.

DownDaRiver:Now see, if the bike had modified pipes, the officer would have heard him coming and wouldn't have pulled out in front of the bike.

I read the article. Based on what it says, the officer pulled out in front of the speeding bike. Emergency lights or no, that just caused homicide, attempted homicide and assault with a deadly. Among other things.

Kahabut:DownDaRiver: Now see, if the bike had modified pipes, the officer would have heard him coming and wouldn't have pulled out in front of the bike.

I read the article. Based on what it says, the officer pulled out in front of the speeding bike. Emergency lights or no, that just caused homicide, attempted homicide and assault with a deadly. Among other things.

Bet you 100$ the cop doesn't even get a note in his file.

Bullshiat. He kept the idiot and his equally brainless passenger from injuring/killing any of the law abiding motorists. One less moron on a superbike is a very good thing. Its just too bad the passenger lived. Hopefully she at least loses a limb or major organ.

I had a Kawi z600R once upon a time. When moving from city A to city B, on a long stretch of turnpike, decided to wrap the bike up as far as it would go, just to see.

Had a helmet and jacket. I think I got to 140 something Whatever the max on the speedometer.. Held it for a good minute or two. Your chin is pressed against the tank, and you can't see anything at all due to the the vibrations. At night, with no eye protection, and a passenger? Super non smart thing to do all the way around.

I got busted at the toll exit via highway patrol roadblock. I couldn't outrun the radio apparently. Had to move so I could ride a bicycle walk to work for six months. That was loads of fun.

orclover:YouPeopleAreCrazy: unlikely: Wonder if he was wearing a helmet...

At 125, do you really think it would have made a difference?

It can depending on if you smack, slide or roll. At 125mph nothing is going to save you if you slam into a solid object. The helmet may keep your head intact but your neck and body are going to get some snaps. Although I have friends who have survived such impacts and been in traction for months. If you roll it can actually be worse and you get multiple smaller impacts all over the body, snapping a bone with every hit and wrenching the meat all over as you pretzel roll your way down the road. If you slide.....you might be ok, with the right gear and a ton of luck you can even walk away from it. A lot of surviving a long slide is up to the rider and how experienced he is, ready to sacrifice his ass cheeks to the pavement. I have slid a few times in good gear and without, my worst was a 50 foot slide on a wet road that destroyed my blue jeans and gave pizza legs. But no hospital stay. I've actually slid on my helmet and had it take the brunt of the damage leaving me unharmed, on that wreck if I had not had a helmet I would have lost my face and likely a bit of brain on the asphalt. Of all the wrecks I honestly believe helmets saved my life twice from certain death, the helmets were cracked from impact.

If you ride, eventually, you are going to get hurt. Ride long enough and you will get hurt bad at some point. For me its still worth it. Not riding like a farking maniac can greatly reduce the odds of it being a really bad drop. But nothing can stop the other vehicles and what they do to you, just pray you can get out of the way.

/end not so csb//yes I know i'm a useless old fark who rambles on and on

Please don't take this wrong, but if you've had multiple serious motorcycle accidents perhaps it's time to give up on that mode of transportation.

Kahabut:DownDaRiver: Now see, if the bike had modified pipes, the officer would have heard him coming and wouldn't have pulled out in front of the bike.

I read the article. Based on what it says, the officer pulled out in front of the speeding bike. Emergency lights or no, that just caused homicide, attempted homicide and assault with a deadly. Among other things.

Bet you 100$ the cop doesn't even get a note in his file.

The bike was traveling 125 MPH at a construction zone. Even if the cop did it on purpose, which is far from clear, what the fark are you crying about? Do you just like lunatics on crotch rockets more than DOT workers or what?

Looks like everyone's itching to find some super-conspiracy to make the cops the bad guys on this.

The dipshiat was doing twice the speed limit, damn right a cop's gonna try and nail his ass to the wall for that. Plenty of non-cops would want to do the same.

The cop broke off pursuit when they failed to stop, in the interest of public safety... chasing them can lead to higher speeds, and more dangerous impacts. Last thing anyone wants is to be plowed into by a few hundred pounds of motorcycle and meat, just to be followed up with a whallop a magnitude greater as several thousand pounds of police cruiser finishes a bone crushing one-two combo.

There is also the possibility that the officer was nearing his top speed, either the limit of the vehicle, or the officer was aware of his own limits, and knew he lacked the skill to handle a 2 to 3 ton car at those speeds. Even if these were the main factor in the officer ceasing pursuit, it was a smart move.

The cruiser that was hit was a state trooper, not city police. Even barring CruiserTwelve's mention of them operating on different frequencies, a state trooper's not going to serve as a one-man road block at a city PD's request, unless the suspect has committed some serious crimes. And even if the state troopers responded, they would not have one car jump out of a construction zone in the hope of getting a lucky hit.

My take on the whole mess is that the guy took a gamble and lost his life in the process. Hopefully the girl (Which I took as a second rider, not a passenger) lives to learn from the ordeal. The city officer did right to break off, and the state trooper got an unlucky break. Only one at fault was a cocky SOB on a crotch rocket.

I love the idea of riding a motorcycle. Did it a bit as a kid in Arkansas - years later as a passenger in Colorado. Ended up driving a Jeep Wrangler for 12 years (pre 2nd child) as a 'compromise' I suppose - still love that whole "wind in the hair" thing so I most sincerely understand the appeal.

That said, I've not talked to any bike rider (who's main source of transport was the cycle) who didn't have to at least lay it down once within 6 months. Leathers or not, it's a huge risk - which is probably part of the rush. Again, I understand this.

But I'll be damned if I'll let my kids on one, nor drive one - at least as long as I can hold the line, so to speak. Dated too many nurses, Drs - live near 2 major trauma hospitals and it's always the same tale - and basic fact. The less materials to absorb impact/danger - the more you will suffer/die. If there's a way around this, let me know - cause I'd love to get the aforementioned rush w/out the risk.

Better yet, they were coming into a construction area. I'm sure if the motorcycle collided with a construction worker, we'd be hearing how the construction personnel were putting the motorcyclists at risk.

Racing at night, in an urban area, in a construction zone....derp times 3.

Better yet, they were coming into a construction area. I'm sure if the motorcycle collided with a construction worker, we'd be hearing how the construction personnel were putting the motorcyclists at risk.

Racing at night, in an urban area, in a construction zone....derp times 3.

Who made today Opposite Day? I'm with the 5-0 on this one. They did absolutely nothing wrong. Not even a little bit. Buddy even had his emergency lights on. I hate to see anyone die, but Darwinismdid its job.